The Sprout

Botley in Bloom Best Front Garden Over All, 100 West Way

The newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley

Issue 149 July 2020

The Sprout

Issue 149, July 2020

Contents

3 Letters

5 Botley in Bloom

9 News from Hill End

13 WWCC update

17 Botley responds

20 Lockdown support

21 All at once...

23 Lockdown Lessons

25 Food parcels

27 Kennington Health Centre

29 Citizens Advice

33 Outdoor pursuits

34 Botley shops

36 Randoms

38 Local organizations

From the Editor

Welcome to the first paper Sprout since April. Although the crisis is by no

means over, our delivery team feel that we can cover the streets of North

Hinksey Parish again without risk. Covid-19 themed articles include an

account of the Botley Responders (p.17), and on p.25 Riki Therivel takes

you on one of the thrice weekly food parcel deliveries to homeless

people. The Patients’ Participation Group continues to be anxious about

the future of Kennington Health Centre (p.27) despite reassurance from

the Surgery, and the Parish Council recently resolved to write a letter to

our MP in support. There’s a poem on page 21 which vividly evokes the

dread and bewilderment that come with all the mixed messages, while

Lockdown Lessons (p.23) has a laugh at the madness of it all. We have

tried to get a handle on which shops we can hope to see open and when

(p.34), and there’s an update on outdoor spaces now open for visits

(p.33). This year Hill End Camp is 100 years old (p.9), but celebrations

have been drastically affected, although they hope to open again over the

summer holidays. Last but not least, we proudly announce the winners of

the Botley in Bloom competition (p.5). The winning garden is shown on

our front cover. Congratulations to everyone who entered.

Ag MacKeith

Letters to the editor

Lockdown love

Back in March when the “lockdown” started I wondered how I was going

to get through the foreseeable future of home schooling, working from

home, not seeing family and friends and being stuck in the house for

hours on end. Little did I know that there was such a big local

community full of support and hope which already existed!

Aware how lucky I was to be able to continue to work and have a nice

house and garden, my thoughts quickly turned to the less fortunate,

vulnerable and homeless, and I joined various WhatsApp and Facebook

groups to try and help in any way I could. I soon saw how much the

local community had already come together in terms of the community

fridge, supporting the local homeless community and shopping for the

vulnerable. Quickly street coordinators around the area were set up to

check up on any more vulnerable neighbours and requests for help

processed and actioned by a team of volunteers.

I was also woken up to the amount of fantastic local small businesses I

have on my doorstep, which I hope people can continue to support as

we come out of this crisis, as they have done throughout lockdown.

Talking to my neighbours more, and coming together every week with

the people on my street during the weekly clap for NHS, allowed me to

have the regular communication with people that I have missed so

much. Yarnells Road has such a brilliant neighbourly spirit!

As time went on and we were able to venture outside for longer periods

I started to notice how much love there was in the community with

rainbow after rainbow in windows, hundreds of beautiful pebbles

painted in every park and nature trail in the local area, free boxes of

toys/books/puzzles/plants outside

houses and a friendly smile and

hello from any stranger who

“socially distanced” walked by.

I have lived in the area since I was

15 and never been prouder to be

part of such a great community of

people and businesses!

Megan Tompkins

BOTLEY IN BLOOM

My fellow judge, Janet Bartlam, and I have just

finished the most blissful task of strolling around

the area looking at the front gardens of those who

entered The Sprout’s Botley in Bloom competition.

The competition was resurrected as so many people

have taken the opportunity to spend more time gardening

this year, but for front gardens only due to the current

social distancing restrictions. You may have seen us with

our essential judging equipment of comfy trainers, sunhats,

pens and clipboards for the scoresheets, and in my case mobile phone

for taking photos of the many inspiring and gorgeous gardens. We had

many ‘ooh, love that’ moments, such as the rubber duck on a chair high

on the side wall of number 44 Westminster Way, but concentrated on

the gardens themselves.

I am delighted to announce the winners in each of the three categories

as follows:

BEST OVERALL FRONT GARDEN

1st prize – Flat 1, 100 West Way. Jane Bailey and Jamie Bartram

were worthy outright winners with a stunning newly created garden that

everyone in the building can enjoy. Top marks for beautiful planting and

design. Wildlife friendly and well integrated veg too. (See cover photo.)

2nd prize – 94 North Hinksey Lane. Phil Bloomer and Ruth Mayne’s

colourful bee-friendly planting is most impressive.

Highly Commended – 50 St Paul’s Crescent. Caroline Cockman’s

pretty pots are a delight.

We’d also like to mention the garden that Danny Connors has created

outside SS Peter & Paul Church. He has added a lot of colour and

done an excellent job which everyone can enjoy.

BEST CAR BOWER

1st prize – 5 Crabtree Road. Emmett and Catherine Casley have

created a design that we felt is really sympathetic to the house and will

look good all year round. (See photo opposite)

2nd prize – 43 Arnold’s Way. Jan Martin’s garden displays beautiful

planting.

Highly Commended – 25 Conifer

Close. We liked Ruth Cameron’s

well designed car bower.

BEST VEGETABLE ELEMENT

1st prize – 15 Poplar Road. Peter

England and Elisabeth Clarke’s

really lovely and imaginative garden

is a great example of how much fruit

and veg can be grown in a small

space – and with flair too. (See

photo below)

2nd prize – 13 Maple Close.

Andrea Flear has a wonderful mix of

fruit bushes, herbs and veg in a

pretty garden.

Highly Commended – 28 Montagu Road. Christie Burland-Upton has

some great ideas. We particularly liked the use of recycled materials,

including the pallet for herbs and salad.

Thanks to the

generosity of North

Hinksey Parish Council

we can award National

Garden Scheme

vouchers for all 1st and

2nd places. First prize

will be a voucher for

£40 with £25 for

second. We will be

presenting certificates

and prizes as soon as

present lockdown

restraints allow.

Most of all our thanks go to all those who entered the competition, with

congratulations to everyone whose hard work and imagination gives so

much pleasure to the rest of the neighbourhood. Viv Smith

Seacourt Hall in lockdown: behind the scenes

Around two months after the successful Open Day at the new Seacourt

Hall, and a month after the popular Botley Big Green Day co-hosted

with St Peter & St Paul Church, we had to close our doors to the public

due to COVID-19. That was in late March 2020.

Since that time, as reported in previous issues of The Sprout, the hall

has been host to the brilliant Botley Community Fridge as their storage

and packing facility. We are pleased to continue to support this initiative

that is currently providing essential provisions to the community.

Meantime, the work of Seacourt Hall continues behind the scenes.

Before lockdown we appointed a new Hall Manager, Lottie Smith. Lottie

is currently working from home on reduced hours. She has been in

touch with all our regular users, is working on our documentation,

administration and our new website. You can contact Lottie on the new

email address admin@seacourthall.org.uk.

The new website (see photo) and online booking system is now live at:

www.seacourthall.org,uk. Please take a look at the new website which

is designed to be more user-friendly, so it is easier to find what’s on and

how to book. It also features our new logo and more photographs.

There is a new online booking system that you can use to find a space

and book online. You can expect to hear back within two working days.

As we are currently closed until further notice, bookings will not be

confirmed but they will be held until we know when we can reopen.

If the government’s plan for step 3 goes ahead, it is possible that

community halls will be able to open from early July. We discussed this

at our recent online Management Committee meeting, and agreed to

postpone opening until 1st August at the earliest in order to put in place

policies for hygiene, cleaning and other necessary processes. We are

monitoring the situation and will review this again shortly. Meantime,

Lottie is in touch with our regular users to find out what their plans are

for resuming activities.

We also agreed to postpone our AGM which is usually held in

September: we would prefer to have it in person so it is easier for the

public to attend. It may be in October, look out for an update in the

September Sprout.

Please keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for updates

over the summer. We will announce any changes and reopening plans

as soon as we can. We look forward to a time when we can safely

reopen this new hall facility to the community and welcome you back.

Lorna Berrett, Chair, Seacourt Hall Management Committee

News from Hill End

Back in February, a team from Hill End attended the Botley Big Green

day, and had a brilliant time meeting local families and letting them

know about all the exciting things we had planned for 2020. How things

have changed since then.

In the early spring we were busy with school groups and families

enjoying the outdoors despite the wet weather. Then, like so many

others, we found our bookings dried up overnight. Schools closed,

public gatherings stopped, and we experienced weeks of glorious

sunshine, enjoyed by the sheep rather than schoolchildren.

This will be such a challenging year as we rely on customer bookings,

especially in the summer months, to continue our work. It’s going to be

a difficult time, but we are determined to keep going, and hugely

appreciate the support and donations we have received. Thank you!

It’s particularly disappointing as 2020 marks 100 years of education on

the Wytham Estate, for us and our next-door neighbours, Wytham

Woods. We’ve needed to postpone all the wonderful community events

we had planned, but we do hope our local supporters will be able to join

us for those in the future.

But it is excellent news that we’ve been able to move some of these

celebrations online – in particular a fantastic new short history film

commissioned by Wytham Woods for our centenary. We’ve had to

postpone our screening event, but you can view the film online, which

also includes some wonderful footage of children and the buildings from

the 1930s. See our website for the link to the film: www.hill-end.org

We are also

incredibly grateful to

Wytham Woods for

donating the

proceeds from their

new poetry

anthology ‘The

Woods of Hazel’ to

Hill End. This lovely

book is the first

released by their

Writer in Residence,

inspired by the

woods and local

nature. It is available

to purchase at a very

reasonable price

from the University of Oxford, and all these donations will benefit

outdoor education for young people. See the Wytham Woods website

for details: www.wythamwoods.ox.ac.uk

From 6 July we will start to reopen gradually, firstly to schools and those

most in need, but we hope also to open to families over the summer if

possible. We have 67 acres of wonderful outdoor space, so we hope it

won’t be too long before it is safe to welcome our visitors back. Please

do see our website and follow us on social media to be the first to know!

Until then, the site remains quiet, the flowers are in bloom, and all the

wildlife is thriving. We hope it won’t be too long before we are able to

share it all with you.

Could you be a Friend of Hill End? The Friends are looking for new

members to join their friendly group and help support the Hill End

Charitable Trust by fundraising or volunteering whatever time and skills

you might be able to share. Please get in touch if you can help in any

way – thank you! Our email address is admin@hill-end.org

Lucy Crittenden, Communication and Finance Manager

West Way Community Concern

update on the plan to increase the size of Block A

Objections: At the time of writing, consultation on the planning

application has formally closed, with nearly 200 comments submitted

objecting to the changes. North Hinksey and Cumnor parish councils

have both objected. The application has been called in by our district

councillor which means the decision will be made by the planning

committee, not by the planning officer.

Reasons for objection are:

• A building of 9 storeys is contrary to the Botley Centre

Supplementary Planning Document;

• No additional car parking is provided, putting additional pressure on

local streets;

• The increased density of housing, with no additional outdoor space

will create a worse environment for those living there;

• There are issues around the security and convenience of the cycle

store and refuse store;

• Increasing the size of this block adds only further environmental

harm to the area, provides no economic benefit, and would have an

adverse social impact on residents of the block itself and of Botley.

The Crime Prevention Design Advisor for Thames Valley Police has

some serious concerns in relation to community safety/crime prevention

design. The car park is not secure, with open access 24/7, so it is highly

likely that the current homelessness and drug related problems in the

vicinity will migrate to these facilities. We understand that Botley

Development Company has been reluctant to register with the ‘Secured

by Design’ scheme, which would have meant these issues were dealt

with during the design phase. We will raise this with them at the next

Community Liaison Group meeting.

Oxford Preservation Trust have objected on the grounds that the

development will harm the character of the views from Oxford.

Visual impact: Botley Development Company have been asked to

submit a Visual Impact Assessment, rather than rely on vague

statements saying that, although the new building would be more visible

from various viewpoints, this does not make any difference.

Once the Visual Impact Assessment has been received, we expect

there to be another period of consultation, following which the planning

officer will make a recommendation and then the application will be

considered by Planning Committee.

Viability and affordable housing: We remain concerned by the

Viability Submission which concludes that the development is not

making sufficient profit, hence the wish to include more flats. They also

raise the case for re-negotiating the payments in lieu of affordable

housing agreed in 2016 as part of the planning consent for this centre.

We don’t yet understand how it is that, with an increased number of

flats, and an assumption that prices will have increased by 15% since

2016, this development does not achieve more profit than the approved

scheme. If it is because market conditions have changed, construction

costs and other costs have increased in the last four years, then we

consider that this is the risk developers must take. It would be quite

shocking if BDC were to renege on the agreed payments in lieu of

affordable housing. We don’t need student accommodation in Botley,

but we do need affordable housing.

We trust that the planning officer and committee will recognise that this

development must not be allowed to become worse than the approved

plans.

Plans for opening the centre: So far Co-op, Tesco, Iceland, Lloyds

Pharmacy and the estate agents Chancellors are the only ones signed

up, along with Premier Inn. We have been told that the Co-op is planned

to open early in July, followed by the others. The centre is expected to

open in August with the remaining vacant units to let. The rental charges

have been set at a level likely to be affordable only to national chains,

and because of the Covid situation potential retail and hospitality

tenants are not able to commit.

More information on our website, and email address is below.

westwayconcern@gmail.com; westwayconcern.wordpress.com

Mary Gill, Chair, WWCC

Swapping, sharing, shopping and singing –

Botley responds!

In the past three months Botley’s community spirit has become a

movement for action, help and support in ways many of us could not

have imagined.

It started with individual streets setting up support groups using leaflets,

email and WhatsApp, and promoting this on the Botley Notice Board

Facebook Group. In my Parish Council role as webmaster and

Communications Committee chair I started a web page with advice and

support and called a Zoom meeting with members of these groups.

From there we created the Botley Responders to co-ordinate the street

groups, respond to urgent needs, share ideas, news, advice, and

support.

This group of more than 50 individuals has achieved so much: from

shopping, Community Fridge referrals, prescription pick-ups to a friendly

phone calls and information for those unable to leave home because

they are shielding, vulnerable, or alone with small children. We act as a

local support network and have had 35 cases referred to us by the Vale

Council and doctors’ surgery.

We‘ve also distributed 1000 leaflets to households not online and put up

around 100 posters. Having the network of Botley Responders has

been so important. I’m impressed that there is always someone

available and willing to help at short notice.

It’s also amazing to see neighbours sharing, swapping and supporting

and getting to know each other. Here are some highlights from the

Botley Responders:

Rosy Owen: It's been lovely in Pinnocks Way! Everyone sharing,

lending things or popping to the shops for each other... And when a little

one had a birthday, loads of people put happy birthday signs up in their

windows!! We're going to try to set up a yearly street party because

we've all got to know each other and have enjoyed coming together!

Corinne Simmons: Hazel Road had our scarecrows up on the street

that we created and had lots of visitors to see them. We are now all

growing sunflowers that will be in our front gardens later this year.

Quizzes are regular and we've even had an ongoing story written about

our street during lockdown posted regularly by one resident. Also

Georgia Wren from Hazel Road ran a marathon in her back garden over

the course of a week. The last metres were run up and down the road in

a spiderman costume. Raised £1,046 for Women's Aid and Oxford

Hospital Charities

Claire Bunce: Maple Close had a group tidy up the grass verges and

weeds, and raised money for SeeSaw, who one resident works for, by

walking/running 26 laps of the Close. Along with, like the rest of the

community, swapping, sharing, shopping and singing!

Penny Rivers: We’ve had the ‘Swap Shop’ going on in the Hawthorns

(Denton, Orchard, Stubble and Browns) – redistributing what we have

found and no longer have use for during lockdown clear-outs. A

neighbour missed out on their wedding day but instead shared a

socially distanced glass of fizz. It’s really connected so many people

who had been neighbours but strangers for years beforehand.

Sarah Clay: Lots of swapping of things on Arthray Road – from books

to bricks, toys to egg boxes and various other things. Also picking up

prescriptions for someone who couldn't get out, and hiding painted

stones on the road for the little kids to find. Definitely feel I know more of

my neighbours now!

Melissa Kinnear: On Cedar Road, Carmen started her photographic

project with her local network, different people post bits and pieces

about what they have cleared out, one of the neighbours bulk cooks and

shares the extra food, and faces are more familiar when we walk along

the road or even in the park.

Celia Clark: We've also had people help fix cars, reunite lost dogs and

offer space in brown bins. We've directed people with spare food to the

community fridge and are now setting up a neighbourhood watch to

combat the burglaries we've had around here. It feels like we can be a

more resourceful and self-managing community now we're connected.

As some restrictions begin to lift it’s important to remember that the

crisis is not over and that these support services are still here and ready

to help you. Here’s a reminder of the contact details: Website:

northhinksey-pc.gov.uk/covid-19-community-hub/ and email: BotleyRes

ponders@gmail.com Check the list of Street Co-ordinators on the

parish council website to find your nearest Botley Responder, as well as

local online groups and all sorts of information to help you at this time,

There’s a list of useful addresses on page 20.

So what about the future? I feel sure all these connections made in

crisis will continue with ideas proposed already such as street parties

and a local “library of things”. In the Parish Council we are discussing

how to develop and extend emergency support into an ongoing resilient

communities plan. We’d love to hear your ideas. Please feel free to

email me (Lberrett.nhpc@gmail.co) or any of the Parish Councillors or

your local Botley Responder. And a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone

supporting the brilliant Botley community! Lorna Berrett

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LOCAL PLANNING APPLICATIONS

P20/V1209/HH Windrush Vernon Ave. Insert circular

gable window and roof lights.

27 May

TDD: 22 July

P20/V1297/DIS

Discharge of #28

(travel plan)

P19/V1731/FUL

Botley Centre West Way. Variation of

condition 2 - approved plans to

application P19/V0416/FUL for

changes to block B.

2 June

TDD:14 July

P20/V1156/FUL Unit 10, Block C Westway Place.

Installation of air conditioning

condenser to the rear elevation.

4 June

TDD:30 July

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